> this morning on "early today". hands off approach. news corp. rupert murdoch denied responsibility for the scandal that rocked his company. ending the impasse. are president obama and lawmakers turning to a new strategy for reducing the federal debt? and terror on the track. a motocross racer manages to survive a high-flying crash. hello, and good morning. welcome to viewers across the nation including the pacific

time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a humbling day. the murdochs have made a business out of covering the story. now, yesterday they were the story. they testified in a dramatic hearing about the phone hacking scandal rocking their media empire. this as british prime minister david cameron addresses the matter at a special session of parliament this morning. we'll get more now from stephanie gosk. >> reporter: the man who runs the second largest media company in the world appeared beside his son apologetic. >> this is the most humble day of my life. >> i would like to say how sorry i am and how sorry we are to particularly the victims of illegal voice mail and deception and their families. >> reporter: from the beginning james took the lead. >> i think my son can answer in

more detail. >> reporter: at times jumping in to help when his 80-year-old father searched or stumbled for the answers. it was rupert murdoch's wife who stepped in at the most critical moment a right hook to protect her husband from a surprise pie attack. the protester, an amateur comedian who calls himself johnny marvel, was arrested and led away by police. for most of the questioning about phone hacking at "news of the world" the committee focused on who knew what and when. both of the murdochs repeatedly denied prior knowledge and never assumed responsibility. >> i don't know. >> i have no knowledge. >> i haven't heard of that. >> i don't have direct knowledge of that. >> i can't answer. i don't know. >> reporter: at one point murdoch claimed his company is too big for him to know the details of each business. there could be more tough questions ahead for rupert and james murdoch.

the british prime minister, david cameron, has called for a judiciary inquiry and they could be summoned for that and there are some u.s. lawmakers that want their own hearing so they can question the media mogul himself on capitol hill. stephanie gosk, nbc news, london. >> in washington now, lawmakers appear to be making some bipartisan progress in the ongoing divide over what to do about the nation's debt libt. for the latest on that we go to nbc's tracie potts. she's in washington d.c. for us. >> reporter: just a glimmer of so-called gang of six, three democrats and republicans who have been working together on a compromise. they have come up with democrats and republicans suggesting $4 trillion in cuts, lower taxes and $1 trillion in revenue. what does the public think? a new nbc poll finds 58% favor

the president's approach of spending cuts and more taxes. lynn? >> thank you. now for a look at other stories making news early today in america. a car jacking led to an explosion of water in one los angeles neighborhood. the stolen car barreled over a fire hydrant creating a massive geyser that showered nearby homes. it took firefighters over an hour to shut the hydrant off. the alleged car jacker was hospitalized and arrested. in minneapolis, a section of interstate 94 surrendered to soaring temperatures. the pavement on two northbound lanes buckled from the high heat and humidity. crews shut down the lanes, slowing traffic to a crawl. those delays will continue until the lanes are repaired. in chicago hot, humid air mixing with the cool waters of lake michigan proved to be a bad combination for beach goers. thick fog forced officials to

ban swimming at several beaches. high winds pushed the fog inland limiting visibility for lifeguards, and at one point the fog even moved into the downtown area before dissipating. now for a look at your hot national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your steamy weather channel forecast. that's an understatement for a lot of parts. >> what happened in chicago is similar to what happens in san francisco a lot. gloomy and foggy and then it burns off later in the day. has to do with temperature contrast between land and water. that's what happened yesterday in chicago. we have 100 million people, roughly a third of the u.s. population is under either a watch, warning or advisory because of this massive heat wave expanding into major cities in the east coast over the next couple days. in the west the weather pattern is leveling out a bit. the jet stream did take a big dip down here and it's not

smoothed out but just a bit of a dip so the only areas that will stay cooler and unsettled with clouds and showers will be washington state and portland, oregon, northward back up through northern idaho. high pressure dominates. nice weather over arizona and also through much of california. we wake up this morning and it's 90 in phoenix. a hot day again yesterday. notice temperatures only in the 50s this morning as you head out the door in the northwest. with clouds around, we're struggling in the 60s in seattle. ridiculously cool summer. that's a look at >> kind of sad when 71 sounds not bad for washington state and spokane but that's still very chilly. >> nevertheless.

all right, bill. thanks so much. apple dominates. big blue sparkles, and modesty in milan. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, we'll tell you why compared to his hollywood friends, matt damon thinks he has it pretty good. coming up, a spectacular crash, a comedy of errors, and what in the world is getting into the pittsburgh pirates? you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are your top headlines this morning. the fbi has arrested a man accused of being an agent for pakistan's state intelligence service who allegedly funneled roughly $2 million in contributions to u.s. political candidates and organizations without disclosing his connections to the pakistani government. the fbi says the man's goal was to tilt u.s. policy against

indian control in kashmir. a mother and her three young daughters died when their vehicle drove into a washed out section of a wyoming highway and was swept away by a raging creek. only the father managed to escape. in california witnesses say a hiker was swept over a waterfall at yosemite national park. a search and rescue operation was suspended overnight and will resume in the morning. this morning in shanghai eight-time all-star 7'6" center yao ming announced his retirement from the nba at age 30 due to a series of foot and leg injuries. nba commissioner david stern called the chinese star "a testament to the globalization of our game." for the second time in a week sicily's mount etna has has spewed lava and molten rock closing down the island's main airport. here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on

msnbc.com. serious calorie counters make daily diet choices that won't put them over the limit. a new study of items from fast food and sit-down restaurants in three states showed nearly one in five items contained 100 or more excess calories than advertised on menus. over a year taking in 100 extra calories a day you could gain 11 to 33 pounds. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. early today health is brought to you by vagisil cream. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,587 after jumping 202 points yesterday. the s&p spiked 21 points. the nasdaq leaped 61. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei climbed 116 points, while in hong kong the hang seng added 101.

tuesday strong earnings and hope for a deficit deal in washington boosted stocks to their best day since march. the dow had its biggest one-day jump this year. tuesday's gains turned all three majors positive for the month. the nasdaq gained more than 2% led by apple hitting a 52-week high. after closing apple posted stunning sales vaulting past nokia and samsung to become the world's biggest smartphone maker, and way above analysts' estimates sending shares even higher after hours. results from tech bellweather ibm sent big blue zooming up almost 6%. coca-cola's sweet results sent coke up over 3%. harley davidson was the s&p's top performer after reporting its first sales increase since 2006. among financials, wells fargo shares jumped almost 6% after a profit hike. key corps rose more than 4% on a boost in earnings. on the flip side bank of america

and goldman sachs fell on disappointing results. in data june's new home and apartment construction jumped to a six-month high. single family home construction saw its biggest increase in over two years. home builders lennar and dr horton gained on that news. after the bell, struggling yahoo! reported a net revenue drop. yahoo! is down more than 20% from its 52-week high in mae. today's ipo is the real estate listing service zillow, opening at $20 a share. and finally, trade unions in italy are up in arms over "degrading merchandizing of the human body." after a milan department store used live models in shorts and bikinis in shop windows. well, coming up, the pirates hold fast. the yankees blunder, and a memorable play at the plate. a frightening motocross mishap with a happy ending. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather we are halfway

through our historic heat wave, and now it's the east coast's turn to get a dose of the furnace. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you are just waking up, this is "early today." in sports they don't have a big budget. they don't have many big name players.

in case you haven't noticed, the pittsburgh pirates are a first place team. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at your sports headlines. good morning. i know it's only july, and there are some 60 games left in the season, but give it up for the pittsburgh pirates. what do you say? a team that has not been relevant since the clinton administration is now atop the nl central. everybody likes a winner, and the pirates are the talk of the town in pittsburgh. the only run of the game andrew mchitchin, a ground-out. pirates up 1-0. the thing that made this team different from the past, pitching. james mcdonald, and three relievers combined for a six-hit shut-out. do not adjust your audio. the pirates are in first place and beat the reds 1-0. the rays lost the last two games, but the baseball gods made up for it last night. eddie. in came a run. yanks and rays tied 2-2. yanks and rays. johnny damon to center. curtis granderson made a grab. sent the ball halfway to tallahassee.

that scored the go-ahead run. yanks with a comedy of errors in the seventh. the rays won it 3-2. look at this. a's and tigers. carlos, a shot down the line. martinez hustled from first. got the green light to go home. the throw to the plate in time. martinez slipped past the plate, faked out the catcher and was safe. great body control and it makes suzuki look like a fish out of water. tigers win it 8-3. over the last few weeks we've had several crashes in the tour de france but nothing on two wheels compares to this. motocross championships in minnesota. chad reed in first place. he was airborne. lost control of his bike and fell from 50 feet before hitting the ground. luckily, he was okay. in fact, he was good to go. got back on his bike, continued the race. another look at the crash. when asked what was going through his mind, he said he was just hoping not to land on his head. it's good to see chad has his priorities in line. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> as i pick up my jaw.

who is saying what over mark anthony and j. lo's divorce? your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, love is a many splendored thing, but can it save lives? you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday. temperatures are still similar

to yesterday. haven't really changed much. 105 in vegas is typical. boise, nice beautiful day for you at 85 and sunny. pacific northwest, one of the only locations in the country seeing below average temperatures. only 67 in seattle. slight chance of a few sprinkles. portland at 70. not much better. as we look toward tomorrow, repeat. 68 in seattle. chance of showers. that's getting a little ridiculous. if you are watching on kcre in sacramento, california, head to placerville at the main library. that's your event of the day. just butter on mine. no salt. >> bill, thank you so much. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. for a celebrity, matt damon thinks he's pretty lucky especially compared to his friends, brad pitt and angelina jolie. damon told german tv this past weekend pitt and jolie are like

prisoners. they can't go someplace and even if they just want to take a walk, it turns into a "international incident." as for his relative peace, damon credits living in new york city. he avoids tourist spots and says new yorkers are "very cool." they don't flip out if they see me. >> the fallout from the jennifer lopez and mark anthony divorce seems to be coming from her camp, focussing on his controlling nature. us weekly quotes sources who say he always tries to manage her wardrobe because he didn't want the 40-year-old mother of two looking too sexy. finally, trying to save a ratings leader and hype its debut episode on the same night of former star charlie sheen's roast. cbs has this new billboard for "two and a half men" featuring new star ashton kutcher.

>> this goes to wxya where one couple showed love is a best business in a life threatening situation. alan suffered what he thought to be a fatal heart attack. doctors had declared him dead when they called in his wife to say good-bye. instead she told him she loved him and couldn't live without him. moments later alan's heart began to beat and he since made a full recovery inspired by his wife's undying love for him. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

one kangaroo is definitely standing out at a zoo in poland. that's because, as you can see, she's special. with white fur and red eyes, she's a rare albino kangaroo that eluded zookeepers until she was 4 months old and started growing fur. she lives with her parents, who unlike their off spring, are traditional kangaroos. in new york musicians are chopping up the competition with unusual sounds. at the annual musical fall festival an orchestra plays just one instrument, a hand saw. the unique sound comes from one of the largest saw ensembles in the world, one that earned them a world record with 53 musicians, most of them self-taught. members come from around the world to participate.

one family's four-legged friend rules the roost at their household in croatia. that's because nika is the pet wild boar, described as bossy and confident. she has become fast friends with the other pet in the house, the family dog. people who train boars hunt truffles have offered thousands of dollars for nika, but the family can't seem to part with their wild, furry friend. it's making me feel very guilty about the wild boar ragu i ate. >> they really have these things to hunt truffles? i thought it was just cartoons. >> it's not a wives tale. >> i'm doing it. >> it's time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. the psychiatrist charged in the 2009 shooting at ft. hood is due to be arraigned. major nadal hassan could be punished by death if found guilty in the massacre that claimed 13 lives.

in washington there will be a senate subcommittee hearing on the yellowstone river oil spill. earlier this month an exxon mobil pipeline in montana burst spilling an estimated 1,000 barrels of oil into the river. and it is the 42nd anniversary of the first man on the moon. on this day in 1969, neil armstrong set foot on the moon declaring that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc, and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news". here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. live from london, details of rupert murdoch's testimony in his hearing before parliament. did it help or hurt his case? and ryan goslin and emma stone are live on the plaza to talk about their new comedy "crazy, stupid love." now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather,

sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day